At Auburn, We're Family

Twenty-one year old Rachel Wilson is a junior at Auburn University. And as she said, “I wouldn’t want to be anywhere else.”

Born and raised in Marietta, GA, a suburb outside of Atlanta, Wilson grew up in a supportive and loving family. Her brother, Brad Wilson, is an Auburn alum, and that is what initially made her consider the university.

Upon visiting several campuses in the southeast, Wilson made a trip to Auburn and took a tour around the beautiful campus. Wilson soon recognized that Auburn was special.

“It was the one school that I felt I wasn’t going to be only another person in a crowd of students, but that I was joining a family, the Auburn family.”

Wilson started college in the fall of 2007, and is currently working to receive both a history and Spanish degree. She also has become extremely involved in several organizations on campus since her freshman year.

Wilson is a sister of Alpha Chi Omega and has had much leadership within her sorority. She has been the fundraising chair, activities chair and currently serves as VP of Philanthropy. Furthermore, during her freshman year, she engaged in Tiger Tuesdays and became a part of Exploring Leadership for freshman.

“One of my favorite memories of college has been related to Tiger Tuesdays,” Wilson said. “It was the first time I participated in the traditional Cater Lawn call outs and heard my name called out for Exploring Leadership. That was very exciting.”

After her first year, Wilson was so passionate about Tiger Tuesdays, that she became the assistant director of Exploring Leadership her sophomore year.

When asked what her favorite moment has been since attending Auburn, Wilson immediately said, “The day I started referring to Auburn as home and not Atlanta. My friends here have become my family.”

Unfortunately, Rachel learned how strong the Auburn Family and support system actually is when her close high school and college friend, Lauren Burk, was murdered in Auburn their freshman year.

“The Auburn community pulled together and sincerely cared about Lauren’s death,” Wilson said. “It meant a lot to me.”

Academically, Wilson feels Auburn has provided her with great educational programs. She also believes she has been given opportunities to learn how to be an effective leader.

“I honestly think I will be a better business woman because Auburn has allowed me to get involved in various organizations where I have learned to manage being in leadership positions,” Wilson said. “I also have realized the importance of working in teams and learned to lead a groups of people efficiently.”

Auburn has taught Wilson to look at the world in different ways. Being submerged into a very conservative school, it’s interesting to note that Wilson has predominately liberal views.

“I’ve truly learned to embrace the differences in other people, but I have also learned to let them become a central part of my life – even if we don’t have similar beliefs.”

Tomer’s Corner is Wilson’s favorite spot in Auburn because she feels it’s the heart of the university and that on football game days and weekend nights, “that’s where everything happens.”

Most importantly, Wilson refers to Auburn as her home and family, “You always hear about other schools such as the University of Georgia being called the Bulldog Nation and so on, but you also always hear about the Auburn Family. And that’s what it is. People here really care for each other and we are truly a real family and I’m proud to be a part of it.”